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I won’t point fingers, but some city councilors and a hand full of residents have already tried and convicted City Manager Steven Thompson, without even bothering to look at the evidence. Heck, we haven’t even made it through discovery yet.

For some councilors, could this be an opportunity to revisit a decision for which they didn’t like the original outcome — the selection of the manager in the first place.

From an April 15 Eagle article: “After a round of votes that revealed Thompson as the favorite over Steven Malloy by a 5-2 vote, the council took a vote to approve Thompson unanimously as the first pick.”

So let’s forget city leaders spent all that money and time with a nationwide search and a final unanimous agreement. Why should you accept defeat when you can just keep bringing it up again until your opponents are beaten down? Forget we’re talking about a human being who uprooted his whole life for an opportunity in Marco, based on your say so and the wonderful democratic process.

Maybe Thompson deserves to be fired. Maybe he did something wrong. But the case hasn’t been made yet.

Even though Thompson has worked hard to adapt to the unique paradise that is Marco Island, he apparently hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt yet; at least not from a few of you.

For the more thoughtful among you, like Council Chair Bill Trotter, I applaud your restraint. It’s hard to hear the accusations flying around and not form an opinion of what should be done.

Just how hard is it to wait? Watch the video from the last City Council meeting. You have speakers who obviously have little to no information or fully understand what is being discussed, yet they voice an opinion. How can you find your opinion so valuable that it needs to be shared at a public forum when you haven’t even bothered to educate yourself yet?

The report that seems to be damning Thompson the most at present was made by Dana Souza — and while he stands behind that report, he also stands behind Thompson. Right now, it sounds like he knows more than most of us about all this. Yet he’s not condemning the man.

So I’ll join my fellow compatriots who will wait, listen and learn. The truth will come out in the pages of the Eagle. Of that you can rest assured. And when it does, I’ll base my decision and my limited voice on the facts. That may be to Thompson’s detriment or his advantage. But that’s really not the point, is it?